Prior art surgical systems typically comprise a plurality of differing communication protocols and hardware depending upon the type of, and amount of, data being transmitted. For example, systems utilizing lower bandwidth (e.g., 100 Mbs or less) connections have been used for communication between equipment, and lack the speed to transmit digital video data to, and from, cameras, surgical displays, storage devices, control stations, computer networks, and the like. Separate higher bandwidth connections are then also required. This necessitates utilizing one type of connection hardware and its corresponding protocols for command, control, and status functions, and another type of connection hardware and its corresponding protocols for video transmission.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,490 discloses a networking infrastructure for an operating room including a plurality of medical devices, each of which is connected through a single communication channel to the network. However, the '490 patent does not provide a system that accommodates devices and network interfaces with different maximum throughputs using a single communication protocol. The '490 patent also does not disclose such a system capable of providing uncompressed streaming video.
It is therefore desired to provide a network based surgical system having a single communication protocol. It is further desired to provide a network based surgical system capable of streaming uncompressed digital video.